Gifted Services
Miamisburg City Schools is committed to the accurate identification of students who are gifted and seeks to serve identified students in their area(s) of giftedness whenever possible. "Gifted" refers to students who perform or show potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of their age, experience, or environment, and federal guidelines define this level as the 95th percentile or above. In Miamisburg City Schools, screenings for gifted identification occur annually in grades 1-5 for Specific Academic Ability in Reading and/or Math and in grades 2 and 5 for Superior Cognitive Ability, Creative Thinking Ability, and Specific Academic Ability in Social Studies and/or Science. The Miamisburg Board of Education gifted policy includes provisions for teachers to refer their students, for parents to refer their children, and for students to refer themselves for screening for possible gifted identification in the areas mentioned above in addition to the area of Visual and Performing Arts. If you have questions about the gifted identification process or gifted services offered in Miamisburg, please contact the Gifted Services office at (937) 866-3381, ext. 4110.

Areas of Gifted Identification
According to both federal regulations and the Ohio Department of Education, a child can be identified as gifted in superior cognitive ability, specific academic ability in the area(s) of reading, math, science, and/or social studies, creative thinking ability, and/or visual performing arts in the area(s) of dance, theatre, art, and/or music.

Academic Qualifications for Gifted Identification
Again, according to both federal regulations and the Ohio Department of Education, a child will be identified as gifted in superior cognitive ability if the student scores in the 95th percentile or above on an approved nationally normative referenced cognitive assessment, and a child will be identified as gifted in a specific academic content area if the student scores in the 95th percentile or above on an approved nationally normative referenced content assessment.

"Nationally Normative Referenced"
The only qualifying assessments for gifted are nationally normative referenced. The assessment must rank the student against all grade- or age-level peers on a national scale, which is reported as a national percentile rank, or NPR. It is this number we use for identification purposes. Currently, our district administers the TerraNova InView in 2nd and 5th grades, which is an approved cognitive assessment, along with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in science and social studies, an approved content assessment for those areas. Throughout elementary school, we also administer the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment, which is an approved content assessment, in reading and math; however, we only use the fall and spring scores for gifted identification. Additionally, any time a child takes an approved, nationally normative referenced assessment throughout middle and high school, such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT, we also use those scores for identification purposes. Classroom grades, OAA or OST scores, participation in academic extra-curricular events, camps, etc., are not approved assessments for gifted identification.

Academically Advanced Versus Academically Gifted
A child can perform very well in class and on Ohio's State Tests (or previously on OAAs) and never qualify as gifted. As an example, classroom assessments measure student performance on grade-level standards. In theory, any child can master grade-level standards, even if they are not strong in math. Hence, scoring all As in math for an academic year equates to mastery of grade-level standards, not giftedness in math. The same is true of OAAs and OSTs, which measure grade-level performance. Gifted students are the top 5% of mathematical thinkers and problem solvers nationwide. That will by default be a very small number of a class population. If Miamisburg has an average number of gifted children, only 5 out of every 100 students will qualify for gifted identification in a particular academic area.

District Services
Our primary focus is our students’ continued learning and growth, including those students identified with high potential (or “giftedness”) in academic or cognitive areas. We are constantly seeking to improve the quantity, quality, and inclusivity of services students receive and to provide targeted professional development and resources to teachers who provide those services. The service models utilized within our district are outlined below.

  • School-Wide Cluster Grouping Model (SCGM): Students identified as gifted are clustered (intentionally scheduled) together in classrooms where teachers are aware of their identified giftedness and intentionally plan instruction to meet their academic needs. Students are automatically cluster grouped in their area(s) of identified giftedness in grades 2-8, and students at Miamisburg High School may self-select honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or College Credit Plus (CCP) courses, which are also part of the school-wide cluster grouping model. When appropriate, Miamisburg Middle School students may also enroll in honors, AP, or CCP coursework as a gifted service option. This model currently serves 83.5% of our identified gifted population district-wide and serves 100% of identified elementary and middle school students.

  • Gifted Intervention Model: Gifted Intervention Specialists provide supplemental gifted services to students in grades 3, 4, and 5 in all seven of our elementary schools. Students identified as gifted will participate in one or more of the following groups over the course of the academic year depending on their area(s) of identified need or giftedness: flexible thinking intervention, problem solving intervention, math enrichment, science enrichment, reading enrichment, and/or science enrichment. Each small group of gifted-identified students meets for 30-45 minutes per day for six weeks.

  • Whole Grade/Content Area Accelerations: Students referred for possible whole grade or content area acceleration will be evaluated as necessary and an Acceleration Committee will determine the appropriate placement. Accelerated placements may count as a gifted service for the first year of acceleration only. Applications for early entrance to kindergarten or first grade are treated as a whole grade acceleration for the purpose of gifted services.

Recommending Retesting
Current district retesting guidelines follow:

  • A student enrolled in Miamisburg City Schools will be retested for possible gifted identification in a specific academic area if he or she scores in the 94th percentile on a norm-referenced assessment.

  • The student, the student’s parent/ guardian, the student’s teacher, or another school employee may request retesting if the student scores in the 90th percentile or above on a norm-referenced assessment and has maintained an “A” average in the specific content area of suspected giftedness for both the current and previous academic years.

  • The student, the student’s parent/ guardian, the student’s teacher, or another school employee may request retesting if the student scores in the 85th percentile or above on a norm-referenced assessment and has a cognitive score in the 85th percentile or above, regardless of the student’s classroom average in the suspected area of giftedness.